Unbelievable
by Thefaultinourstarfish
Summary: A different ending to chapter Fifty-Seven of Cress.


**Hey! It's been a while! I've had some inspiration lately to write so here we go. I've missed creating stories and typing away, so, here I am! I hope you enjoy because this is my first fic in a whiiiile, so enjoy! I apologize for any OOC-ness.**

**I do not own anything.**

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_"I thought I'd done a pretty good job of clarifying all those other incidents, but if you have more, by all means, let me ruin those for you too."_

_She bit her lip._

_The rooftop. The kiss. He'd kept his promise. He'd given her a kiss worth waiting for because she was about to die—they were both about to die. She knew it had been a risk, and probably a stupid one. And that was the choice he'd made rather than let her die without experiencing that one perfect moment._

_She could think of nothing more heroic._

"Yes," she whispered softly, her cheeks heating. She didn't dare look at him. Thorne's eyebrows rose. Cress was thankful he couldn't see how red her face had gotten. His loss of vision hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be. He was constantly holding onto her for stability. And she had absolutely no problem with guiding him.

"Really? What?"

Cress gulped.

And then she remembered.

She remembered the years she spent by herself with only Little Cress for company. She remembered all those days after the name "Carswell Thorne" had flickered across the newsfeeds that she fantasized over how they would meet and fall in love. Their great epic romance would be one everyone would envy. She'd have a prince, a hero. Cress remembered the countless times Lady Sybil would arrive and how she would cower and fear the thaumaturge. She remembered never standing up for herself while Sybil would verbally abuse her. She never told Sybil how angry she made her and how she longed to see Earth and leave her satellite prison.

So, Cress decided to be brave.

She knew she would regret telling the Captain later on if she didn't tell him.

"You kept your promise," she said quietly. Her chin rested on her knees that were pulled to her chest. Her arms were wrapped securely around her legs. "You gave me a kiss—"her voice caught on that word; kiss "worth waiting for."

She watched him cautiously as he took in her words. Before she could read his expression she changed the subject. "Not only that, but you did lead me through a desert and saved my life more than once…"

"But I still didn't tell you the truth," Throne began. "And_ I_ was the reason your life was in jeopardy in the first place. I shouldn't have let Sybil get the better of me or trust the caravaners." He looked distressed. His hands ran through his hair. His beautiful, beautiful hair…

"After I got you into all of this trouble, you probably don't still think you're in love with me, right?"

Cress sucked in a breath.

Staying brave, staying brave…

After a moment of silence while she tried to find the words to say, she took a deep breath. What's the worst that could happen? Rejection couldn't hurt as bad as the net-dramas made it out to be…

"Y-You aren't the person I thought you were when I discovered all those things about you on the net. I had a crush on you before we had even met, and I made you out to be a hero that you don't think you are. But, in my eyes, you still are…my hero, that is. You came for me when I was taken and carried me when I was sick, even though you couldn't see. You made sure I had enough water and protected me from Sybil's guards… I can never thank you enough, Captain. Things have cha-"

"Carswell."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't call me Captain. Everyone else should call me Captain. Or Thorne. But I want you to call me Carswell." His head was tilted towards her, and his bandana still hung around his neck. His fingers fiddled with it absently as he leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees. His eyes scanned the general area she was in, finally stopping on the wall just above her. Cress found herself lost in his eyes; bright and vibrant and blue.

"Carswell," she tested, the name like honey on her lips. His mouth tipped up on one side, that grin lighting up his face. He had asked her to call her by his real name, which no one else did. It felt very personal, maybe even intimate. Maybe she was making something out of nothing, but it seemed to be a big deal.

"Cress, I'm sorry for all that has happened. For finally getting to be free and live your life you haven't gotten to enjoy much since you left the satellite. I think you're a sweet girl, but—"

"Carswell?"

Thorne swallowed. "Yes?"

Cress shook. She bit her lip, clasping her hands tight as she lowered her legs, her blue dress spilling around her. Her feet dangled just above the floor in the chair, so she scooted forward so they touched the ground. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she breathed a little faster. The air in the room seemed to be tense and electric, her nerves on edge. She looked at her shoes, at him, and her hands, at him.

Carswell's chin rested on his hands. He was leaning far enough forward that if she wanted to reach out and touch him, it would be easy, so very easy. And she longed to touch his cheek, his nose, his forehead, and his lips. Just once more… And then it happened.

"I'm in love with you."

Word vomit.

Cress immediately regretted the words. She wished she could pull those five little words out of his brain and throw them away. Stop on them, burn them, rip them apart. But they had escaped from her lips though she had protested. They hung in the air for a long moment. She thought her cheeks would burn off from how hot they had become. Her hands continued to shake though she squeezed them together tightly.

When Cress dared to steal a glance at him, he looked…absent, thoughtful. He was obviously contemplating the words she had said, tossing them around in his head to see how he liked them. Whilst he sat, silent, her mouth opened and closed. Should she apologize? Leave the room? The longer the silence grew, the more her heart sank. Her chest slowly ached. Cress felt her eyes burn, threatening to spill, but she took a deep breath and held it in. She held it in and blinked her eyes tightly and wiped away the tears and smoothed her dress and looked back up at him.

"Come here."

Cress sucked in a breath.

"What?" her voice was barely a whisper. Before she could say another word his hands had found hers. His fingers wrapped around her wrist, and she watched his hands as they gingerly tugged her forward.

Thorne had a lot of experience in this area, as Cress did not. He had kissed her in the midst of a battle. They had a moment of passion on a roof as bullets flew by and blood was spilled. But now, the room was empty, no one was around, and it was just Cress and Thorne; Cress and Carswell.

His face was very, very close to hers now. Her breath had disappeared, flittered away into the air. One of his hands moved to touch her face, sending shivers down her spine. She felt like electricity had shot through his skin to hers. The silent tension was unbearable.

Her eyes moved up and down his face, trying not to land on his lips. But they did, of course. And she felt crazy. This was crazy, absolutely crazy…Carswell Thorne was centimeters from her face and she had forgotten how to breathe, how to move, how to function.

Cress could just see it happening, her moving in a little closer, his arms snaking around her waist, hers wrapping around his neck, leaning forward…closer, closer…

"What color are your eyes?"

His question snapped her back from her reverie. She blinked and remembered to inhale and exhale.

"I didn't get to see them more than once or twice before I went kind of blind."

Cress moved her hands up to his face, her thumbs brushing over his cheeks. He inhaled deeply, leaning into her touch.

"They're blue." She said, quietly. His lips perked up in a smile.

"Blue," he repeated. He twirled a piece of her short, uneven hair in between his forefinger and thumb. His eyes lit up, matching his smile. Cress felt her heart melting, dripping all over her features. She adored him.

His other hand moved to her cheek as he pulled her closer to him, their noses bumping together. Cress blushed and smiled weakly, and Thorne chuckled lightly. She noticed a faint blush across his cheeks, and smiled even more. He scratched at the back of his neck, leaning away from her.

And Cress deflated.

"I'm sorry," he laughed again, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'm doing. These eye drops must be affecting my brain or something. I shouldn't have insinuated anything. We have work to do and—"

And then, she did it.

Their lips collided in an instant. Cress balled her fists in his shirt, holding his face to hers. Thorne hadn't finished his sentence and was shocked, not exactly prepared, in that moment at least. He was fully prepared the moment beforehand, though…

Cress was entirely ready for him to pull away, to go on about how wrong she was to do this, to push her and walk right out of the room.

But he relaxed. And he kissed her right back.

Thorne lifted her into his lap, and wrapped his arms securely around her waist. Cress kept her hands tight in his shirt, holding fast. She smiled in this kiss, this perfect, unbelievable kiss…

"Cress! Captai—"

Cress and Thorne jumped apart immediately as Iko came into the room, her escort droid body almost entirely fixed. She was giddy, laughing.

"Well, when you two are finished, we're going to have dinner. Cinder owes me twenty univs…" she muttered as she exited the deck.

Cress was bright red, and she stood quickly, helping Thorne to his feet also. She gave him his cane and they headed towards the door. Just as they were walking through the doorway, Thorne grabbed her hand and spun her towards him, reaching down and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Come see me after dinner, Cress."

Her eyes stayed wide open as she stared at his now bandana covered face.

Her mouth hung open before she said, "Alright, Carswell."

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**Woo! Thanks for reading! Give me ideas on more one-shots…? Maybe? Eh? Hopefully we'll meet again soon! :)**


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